Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has posted an update on his visit to Warsaw where he met the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk on Thurday.
In a post on X, Shmyhal said he and Tusk had discussed “areas of cooperation, the situation at the border and trade in the agricultural sector”.
He added: “We expect Poland to provide concrete answers to the steps we have put forward, the European Commission’s transit and export ban on goods from Russia and Belarus, and to agree on joint controls at checkpoints.”
We held another round of 🇺🇦 🇵🇱 intergovernmental consultations. Discussed areas of cooperation, the situation at the border and trade in the agricultural sector. We expect Poland to provide concrete answers to the steps we have put forward, the European Commission's transit and… pic.twitter.com/gyjtkWEJcX
Ukraine has asked western allies for additional air defences.
An extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council took place at ambassadors’ level today.
Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian defence minister, briefed the ambassadors and “called on Nato member states to provide additional air defence systems and missiles to protect Ukrainian cities and citizens,” the Ukrainian mission said to Nato said.
Today an extraordinary meeting of the #NATO-#Ukraine Council was convened at the initiative of Ukraine in response to Russia's missile attacks on 🇺🇦 critical infrastructure.
Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has carried out searches as part of an investigation with other European security services into alleged Russian espionage, the agency said today, Reuters reported.
“Actions aimed at organising pro-Russian initiatives and media campaigns in EU countries have been documented,” ABW said in a statement, mentioning the website voice-of-europe.eu which it says published pro-Russian material.
Earlier this week, the Czech Republic sanctioned two people and the website voiceofeurope.com, for what it said was leading a pro-Russian influence operation in Europe.
Denmark’s ministry of defence is hoping to attract more women and ethnic minorities to join the country’s armed forces with free period products and prayer rooms.
It comes after the country announced earlier this month plans to conscript women in Denmark for military service for the first time, amid Europe’s worsening relations with Russia and the war in Ukraine.
According to a new “strategy for diversity and inclusion” draft, seen by DR Nyheder, on how to make the armed forces more attractive, the personnel board wrote: “There is a great potential for recruitment of women and ethnic minorities in particular, which we are not making sufficient use of”.
Commanders, it said, should in future be trained to guide conscripts on subjects including menstruation and religious considerations.
“To support this initiative, we will investigate the possibilities of making, for example, free hygiene items and prayer rooms available,” it added.
It also suggested marketing education programmes in the armed forces and emergency services more specifically at women and ethnic minorities for conscription and making working conditions “compatible with parenthood” with parental leave and the opportunity to transition into a job.
The armed forces is currently in the process of making uniforms and equipment better suited to female bodies.
According to the document, less than one in five (18.4%) of the ministry of defence’s employees were female in 2022 and among uniformed employees the figure was less than one in 10 (9.3%).
Among conscripts, just over 25% in 2022 were female. While just 2-4% were from ethnic minorities.
The Guardian has contacted the Danish ministry of defence for comment.
A spokesperson from its personnel board told DR: “The strategy is currently a working version, which awaits approval in the Ministry of Defence. Therefore, we currently do not have any comments on the content.”
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said today that we are closer to finding a solution with Ukraine regarding food imports, Reuters reported.
Tusk hosted his Ukrainian counterpart for talks designed to ease friction over imports and border blockades by disgruntled Polish farmers.
“We are close to a solution,” Tusk said. “This applies to the amount of products that can flow into Poland, once we determine it, we are close to ensuring that transit does not disturb the Polish market.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, has appointed Oleh Ivashchenko as the new head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service.
I have appointed combat general Oleh Ivashchenko as the new head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
He is a professional who perfectly understands intelligence activities and our state's current goals. During times of war, there are absolutely non-public matters that… pic.twitter.com/ZinPoSxlS5
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 28, 2024
Russia strikes Ukraine's Kharkiv with aerial bombs killing at least one civilian, say local officials
Russia struck the north-eastern city of Kharkiv with aerial bombs on Wednesday for the first time since 2022, killing at least one civilian and wounding 16 others, local officials said.
According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the airstrikes caused widespread damage, hitting several residential buildings and damaging the city’s institute for emergency surgery.
A residential building damaged in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where local officials say Russian aerial bombs on Wednesday killed at least one civilian. Photograph: Pavlo Pakhomenko/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine in recent days, launching several missile barrages on the capital Kyiv and hitting energy infrastructure across the country in apparent retaliation for recent Ukrainian aerial attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod.
The Kharkiv region cuts across the frontline where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in battles for more than two years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The region is frequently attacked with missiles and drones.
According to the AP, Sergey Bolvinov, head of the investigative police department in Kharkiv, said in a Telegram post that Wednesday’s attack marked the first time aerial bombs were used since 2022. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov also reported the use of aerial bombs.
The recent escalation comes as exhausted Ukrainian troops struggle with a shortage of personnel and ammunition and face growing Russian pressure along the frontline that stretches more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
Russian president Vladimir Putin briefed South African president Cyril Ramaphosa by phone on the situation in Ukraine, Reuters reports, citing the Kremlin.
The two leaders also discussed cooperation in energy and trade, the Kremlin said.
Aminchon Islomov, one of eight suspects detained over suspected involvement in the Moscow concert hall attack last week, has appealed against his pre-trial detention, reports Reuters citing the Russian state news agency RIA on Thursday.
Islomov, a native of Tajikistan, is suspected of aiding the four Tajik nationals who attacked the Crocus city concert hall venue, killing at least 143 people.
The Kremlin gave no indication on Thursday that Russian president Vladimir Putin plans to visit family members of those killed in last Friday’s attack on a Moscow concert hall, which killed 143 people, reports AFP.
The Russian leader was seen lighting a candle for the victims at a Moscow church last week but has not visited the scene of the massacre or publicly met with its victims.
“If any contacts are necessary, we will inform you accordingly,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, when asked if Putin planned to meet family members of the dead.
The Russian leader was seen lighting a candle for the victims at a Moscow church last week. Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/Reuters
According to AFP, Peskov also said Putin did not plan to visit Crocus city concert hall, the scene of the massacre where rescuers had for the past week been searching the rubble for bodies.
“In these days it would be completely inappropriate to carry out any fact-finding trips, because this would simply interfere with the work,” Peskov said.
Islamic State jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible for the attack, but Putin and Russian officials have suggested Ukraine and western intelligence were somehow involved.
The Kremlin has expressed confidence in the country’s powerful security agencies, despite swirling questions over how they failed to thwart the massacre.
